Study of Literacy Collaborative finds substantial increase in student learning
November 13, 2009
Student learning at Literacy Collaborative schools increased by an average of 32 percent during a recent three year study. Conducted by a research team led by Dr. Anthony Bryk, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the study measured student learning among kindergarten through second grade at 17 schools and showed improvements in overall student learning in each year - in some schools an improvement of 100 percent - through Literacy Collaborative.
Literacy Collaborative is a whole-school improvement program, focusing on K-8, offered by the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative in Lesley University’s School of Education. Schools that adopt Literacy Collaborative send one teacher to Lesley University for seven weeks of intensive training to serve as the school’s “literacy coordinator” or school-based “literacy coach.” They then provide professional development to their colleagues, as schools form leadership teams to coordinate implementation, review student data and evaluate the program.
The study was funded by a $3 million grant to Dr. Bryk from the federal Institute of Education Sciences with the U.S. Department of Education, and included researchers from Stanford University, University of Chicago, Northwestern University and Literacy Collaborative. The research team collected data on 8,500 students, 240 teachers and 17 literacy coaches over a four year period, including the year prior to Literacy Collaborative involvement to serve as a baseline. Full results will be published in the 2010 edition of The Elementary School Journal.
“We conclude that the learning improvements documented in this study are program effects from the schools’ participation in the Literacy Collaborative program,” wrote Dr. Bryk in his final report to the Department of Education. “They warrant a claim of substantial effects on student learning.”
“This study included classroom observation and evaluation of individual teachers and showed substantial improvement in teaching skill and improved communication among teachers” said Irene Fountas, Director of Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative at Lesley University. “Our goal is successful literacy achievement for every child, and this study is an affirmation of the work of literacy coaches and the Literacy Collaborative approach to student learning.”